Cynthia Lummis 'Deeply Concerned' After Report Points Toward $6 Million Bitcoin Sale By Justice Department — But Did It Really Happen?

Benzinga · 2d ago

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) expressed deep concern Monday over reports that the U.S. government is selling Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), despite a directive to preserve such assets for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Lummis Reacts To Bitcoin Sale Report

Lummis voiced her concerns in response to a report by Bitcoin Magazine, which revealed that the Department of Justice sold the Bitcoin seized from Samourai Wallet developers as part of their plea deal.

Lummis questioned why this was still happening despite President Donald Trump’s executive order from last year requiring that forfeited Bitcoin be held in a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

“We can't afford to squander these strategic assets while other nations are accumulating bitcoin,” Lummis said. “I'm deeply concerned about this report.”

Did The DOJ Really Liquidate Bitcoin?

The report stated that the U.S. Marshall Service, a Department of Justice agency, might have sold roughly $6.3 million in BTC forfeited from Samourai co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill.

The two were arrested and charged with money laundering and unlicensed money transmitting offenses in 2024.

Data from the on-chain analytics firm Arkham showed that 57.55 BTC was transferred from Samourai wallets to a Coinbase Prime Deposit address owned by the U.S. government. Later, the funds were moved to another Coinbase Prime Deposit address, which currently has zero balance.

The USMS didn’t immediately return Benzinga’s request for confirmation.

US’s Bitcoin Hoard

The U.S. government holds 328,372 BTC, worth over $30 billion, according to data from Arkham.

Trump’s executive order established a National Bitcoin Reserve funded by forfeited assets, with a provision to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional BTC.

Additionally, Lummis proposed a bill to buy 1 million BTC over five years, with a 20-year holding period,  leveraging budget-neutral strategies such as Federal Reserve remittances and gold certificate revaluations.

Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was exchanging hands at $92,754.99, down 1.21% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.